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Tales of History - A Civ-Builder Quest

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So, something I want to bring some attention to real quick:
Kirron 999 said:
--[x] 2 Heavies, 1 Light, 1 Archer + Clansmen auxiliaries (for a proportional share of the loot, advertise the opportunity of them joining us via our normal traders and perhaps the
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Satar said:
--[x] 1 Heavies, 1 Light, 1 Archer + Clansmen auxiliaries (for a proportional share of the loot)
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Azel said:
The strategy score is used for opposed checks against other commanders before a battle and determines troop movements, scouting results, and the location where the actual battle will take place. The strategy score is modified by the total Maneuver score of the force, but can never be raised beyond double the actual skill of the commander.
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With these two plans we will have -1 and 0 total maneuver respectively. I would not be surprised if the Goat People, being nomads, have some kind of maneuver bonus, so they'll quite possibly have a higher maneuver which will affect their overall strategy score which affects stuff like scouting results and where the actual battle takes places. So, we should have the knowledge in hand that we may be at a disadvantage in those aspects. I still think we'll win handily, but I wanted to make everyone aware of this.
 
If believe that moving forward, our foreign policy should follow these few principles in order to succeed :

1. Keep your friends close, keep your enemies closer

The thing that has hurt us the most in the past is, in my opinion, lack of information. Not only are we not aware of which polity is a threat, and which alliances are forming before it is too late, but we even lack the information that would allow us to pick the right targets to raid. In order to acquire said information, I believe that we should start trading with the neighboring polities. For most of human history, trading has been the primary way for information to travel. Not only would traders inform us of the political ongoings of the world around us, but they would also spread technology (to us as well) and provide enconomic benefits.
I therefore believe that trading is a requirement for the future, even if we adopt a raiding heavy policy.

2. The pen is mightier than the sword (sometime)

As the recent past has proven, the people of the plains are only a threat when they ally or scheme against us together. Terefore, we can no longer abstain from participing in diplomacy. We should work to diplomaticaly isolate raiding targets, and try to hamper the formation of large alliances opposed to us. If push come to shove, we should forge alliances of opportunity to protect us from rival coalitions, or even join such alliances until they are unmade by time.
In peace, just as in war, diplomacy should be our tool, and we can no longer afford to ignore the wider world.

3. Pick your target carefully

The past few raids have cost us much, but brought us little. This is due to poor target selection brought about by a lack a information. We have faced formidable foes for little gain, and have failed to bring back meaningfull tech and wealth from raiding. In the future, we should only raid the weakest and the wealthiest targets. We once found success raiding for tech, and I belive that we should make this a priority as well.
The income from a worthwile raid needs to not only be worth the men lost in the raid, but also the opportunity cost of not having the hunters at home.

4. Figth for long term benefits

For a while now, we have adopted an agresive foreign policy, yet we have failed to grow stronger as a result. Our campaigns have failed to bring us land or tribute, and we stand in the same position as we did before they started. I believe that, should we be invloved in a large scale military operation again, we should try to secure permanant gains, either through land or tributes. Too many time have we captured a city only to leave it behind, or having it burned. Too many times have we won a battle, and failed to secure anything more than the loot we could carry.
The goal of foreign policy is to gain and maintain power. Through war, our strength should grow.
 
Vote closed.
Adhoc vote count started by Azel on Apr 7, 2020 at 5:27 PM, finished with 130 posts and 16 votes.
  • [x] Plan Memories Renewed
    -[X] Reassign some of the workers to different tasks
    --[x] Let the simple workers produce some other resources
    ---[x] 1 Unassigned to Rancher, 1 Unassigned to Gatherer
    -[X] Send the hunters on a raid.
    --[x] The Herdsmen trade caravans and any of their settlements near the mountains, drive them out of the West.
    --[x] 2 Heavies, 1 Light, 1 Archer + Clansmen auxiliaries (for a proportional share of the loot, advertise the opportunity of them joining us via our normal traders and perhaps the bone tenders if they agree, short messages basically saying that we're raiding the rich traders down river, anyone who wants to join is welcome).
    -[X] Increase resource gathering slots.
    --[X] Build a silver mine (Cost: 3 Production, 1 Production already spent)
    -[x] Council: Gain +1 Production to spend this turn, used to finish the silver mine.
    [x] Plan Feigned Friendship & Blood Murder
    -[X] Reassign some of the workers to different tasks
    --[x] Let the simple workers produce some other resources
    ---[x] 1 Unassigned to Rancher
    ---[x] 1 Unassigned to Gatherer
    -[X] Send the hunters on a raid.
    --[x] The Herdsmen trade caravans and any of their settlements near the mountains, drive them out of the West.
    --[x] 1 Heavies, 1 Light, 1 Archer + Clansmen auxiliaries (for a proportional share of the loot)
    -[X] Increase resource gathering slots.
    --[X] Build a silver mine (Cost: 3 Production, 1 Production already spent)
    -[X] Send a diplomat to someone.
    --[X] Clansmen
    --[X] Convince clansmen hunters to join us on a great raid!
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Division and Conquest 1
  • Threadmarks
    • [x] Plan Memories Renewed
    -[X] Reassign some of the workers to different tasks
    --[x] Let the simple workers produce some other resources
    ---[x] 1 Unassigned to Rancher, 1 Unassigned to Gatherer
    -[X] Send the hunters on a raid.
    --[x] The Herdsmen trade caravans and any of their settlements near the mountains, drive them out of the West.
    --[x] 2 Heavies, 1 Light, 1 Archer + Clansmen auxiliaries (for a proportional share of the loot, advertise the opportunity of them joining us via our normal traders and perhaps the bone tenders if they agree, short messages basically saying that we're raiding the rich traders down river, anyone who wants to join is welcome).
    -[X] Increase resource gathering slots.
    --[X] Build a silver mine (Cost: 3 Production, 1 Production already spent)
    -[x] Council: Gain +1 Production to spend this turn, used to finish the silver mine.

    In these days, the Council chamber of Greenvalley was increasingly filled with shouting. Gone was the restraint of the Councillors themselves, gone the attempt to show unity, instead the group among the people had drawn them firmly into their respective corners. It began with Tall Reed, whom the Fishes had begun to direct their ire towards, saying he failed to represent them in the Council. So he had turned to increasingly outlandish displays to show the opposite, first by spitting onto the ground whenever the lowlanders were mentioned in debate, then beginning to wave around bone charms meant to ward away ill fortune. His antics served no true purpose anymore, save to have his supporters hollering their approval. And as he had begun with this behavior, so had the Hunters and the Artisans push on their Councillors, Willow and Fingers.

    Of the two of them, Fingers had taken to mock the other two, alternating between pretending to doze off when they spoke to interrupting them with biting remarks. Her tongue was famed to be just as sharp as a obsidian blade by those who had drawn her ire in the pat, yet never before had she so freely indulged in lashing out at others. To her supporters, she was the only one who spoke sense in the Council, while her opponents saw her as an old crone who should be thrown from her post for her lack of wits. While Tall Reed's behavior was obnoxious though, hers had begun to become dangerous for how it enraged Willow.

    He, who had his seat solely because he promised his fellow hunters to lead them to the same glories as in the old days. He, who had to save face at all costs, lest his supporters loose what little trust they had in him after he had achieved so little for them. He, who was probably the only one between the Council and an irate mob of Hunters taking matters into their own hands. Willow knew quite well what was at stake, for his supporters felt no shame and never hid their rising contempt with the Artisans and the Fishes. Neither could he ignore the whispers about how a Council only made of Hunters would lead the Valley People back to the glorious past.

    For months, he tried to keep the peace, but when Tall Reeds antics started, he lost his temper a few times. The Hunters loved him for it, as they felt his rage was showing the vigor they expected from a Councillor, so he let it flare more often to tighten his grip on them. Once Fingers told him that she remembered him as a small boy and that his mother clearly didn't beat him enough to get the stupid out of him. Then Willow let his wrath speak for him, saying he would have her throat slit as a traitor if she ever spoke of violence against another Councillor again. He was ashamed for his words then, but the cheers of the Hunters drowned it out. Soon such words got easier and began to wield a spear in the chamber like some of his more eccentric predecessors. Some months later he began to wear deer antlers as a headdress and calling himself the Great Deer. The mask he wore had slowly taken over and while the hunters cheered on his grandstanding and callous insults, he began to see himself as that mythical hero that he pretended to be.

    Few were those in Greenvalley who could avoid being drawn into the conflict, even the serfs being bullied into proclaiming a stance one way or another. Only the Bone Tenders managed to avoid it, instead using their accepted neutrality to mediate between the increasingly hostile factions, but there was not much they could achieve while so many others tried to escalate. At the same time though, they had to be the messengers for the Council to the Clans and with every month of increasingly hostile debate, the conflict of the Valley People began to spill into the Clans. There the matters discussed were far less pressing and the isolating nature of the mountains helped to keep heads cooler then in the valley, but slowly the battle lines were drawn there too. It became clear that while the Clans would not fight each other over the disagreements of the Valley People, they were certainly willing to lend their strength to whatever group they felt to be closest to their own desires.

    Favoring Hunters over Fishes and Artisans. Two Stability Checks forced.
    6 + 6u1 -> 4 -> Stability -1
    6 + 6u1 -> 5 -> Stability -1

    New Stability: 7/10

    The next year in the spring, Willow and a group of hunters simply disappeared from the valley, nobody knowing or at least not willing to tell where they went. The other two Councillors were furious about this, having not agreed to send out any scouts, and given that they had departed geared for war, there was no doubt that this was more then a hunting trip. Two moon turns came and went, the Council all but paralyzed as even the simplest matters could no longer be decided as Fingers and Tall Reed began blaming each other for this mess. Then Willow returned and with him came the bounty of his raid. He had tracked one of the caravans coming from the mountains and ambushed it near the valley, taking a few tamed yak bulls, a few prisoners and most of their wares.

    In the bags and baskets the Valley People found beautiful dyes of deep red and blue, the latter even darker and fuller in color then the finest Azurite, and strange gourds made from some kind of brown stone that contained water and milk. The red dye the Goat People were hewing from the mountains, while the blue dye and the strange gourds apparently came from further east. A different set of lowlanders then those around Brushcrest, who lived in huts made from mud and bowed before oxen. But nobody truly cared about where the plunder came from, just that it was there. The people cheered at this bounty, first among them the hunters. Both Tall Reed and Fingers, in a rare moment of agreement, began to lay into Willow for having overstepped his authority by leading this raid without their approval, but there was no use. There own supporters listened and nodded along with their indictment, while his just laughed and hollered at the cowardly Fish and the jealous crone.

    Next summer, they went again, capturing another caravan. This time there were a few dead hunters to mourn, for this time the Goat People had brought along some warriors of their own. This time, the cargo was just more of the blue dye and much less then in the year before. There were still cheers for Willow and his hunters, but not as many is before and this time, there were more people listening when the other Councillors condemned him. So he decided that he needed more. More plunder. More prisoners. More victories. If he could win a truly grand battle as in the days of old, even the Fishes and the Artisans would have to call him the Great Deer and all this talk about him doing wrong by making decisions on his lonesome would be forgotten in the celebration that would follow. Next summer, two in three hunters marched with him, bolstered by a force of clansmen who had heard about the riches to be found from the Goat People.

    The other Councillors were outraged by this and said as much, but at this point, not a single hunter listened to them anymore. They all followed Willow and even those that remained behind to hunt for food refused any order given by someone else then him. Tall Reed and Fingers began to plot what to do about this situation, each one conferring with their supporters how to reign in the hunters, but still refusing to work with each other if it could be avoided. Summer turned into fall, and the hunters did not return. Just a runner came back to Greenvalley to tell the hunters that the Great Deer would be campaigning for a while longer. That he didn't even bother to address the Council was lost to no one.

    Hunter reaction: 1d10 -> 4
    Willow's reaction: 1d10 -> 1

    Political System strained. Possible breakdown of government forcing Stability Check.
    6 + 6u1 -> 5 -> Stability -1, Government Deadlock

    New Stability: 6/10

    As fall turned into winter, another runner came. The Great Deer was making a winter camp in the mountains, tended to by the many Goat People he had forced under his will in the name of Greenvalley and the ancestors. He would return in the coming summer, after he raided the Ox People. His supporters were ecstatic at these news, deciding to celebrate their hero then and there and all but demanding that the Bone Tenders would elevate him to the same heights as the Bear and the Wolf in the years to come. Other though were afraid, for the lack of fresh meat was keenly felt in every stomach of the valley and those who did not buy into Willows grandstanding began asking themselves what would happen if he was lying. What if he would not return? What if he lost? When the spring came, the mood in the valley became more and more tense. Soon, the hunters proclaimed to everyone they perceived as enemies, soon they all would see their folly when the Great Deer returned with the riches of the world and an army of serfs for the people. Soon he would purge the rot and weakness that had festered in the Valley People.

    Their threats were soon forgotten though, for in the late spring, something else then Willow came to the valley. A great host was marching up along the Gentle River, so large that it didn't even bother to hide their presence. The remaining hunters had done their best to figure out who had sent these warriors, but many symbols on the shields they didn't recognize. One they did though. A hill in between two wavy lines. It was the hunters of Brushcrest, among many others, who had come to the valley.

    Lowlander Alliance:
    - 4? Hunters
    - 2? Fanatics
    - 1? Heavy Infantry
    - 2? Archers

    Greenvalley:
    - 2x Regular Infantry
    - up to 12x Mobs

    White Clans:
    - unavailable

    What did the diminished Council do?
    Note: As the government of Greenvalley is deadlocked, there is a chance that orders are not carried out properly. This is determined by checks against the current Stability score.

    [] Try to negotiate with the oncoming army. (Might cause conflict with Cultural Ideas)
    -[] Write-In terms to offer them.

    [] Meet them in battle.
    -[] Write-In how many Mobs to field.

    [] Hunker down behind the walls of Greenvalley and wait for Willow to return with the hunters.

    [] Write-In

    AN: The rolls for Greenvalley were anything but stellar this turn so far.
     
  • Threadmarks
    • Looks like the alliance in front of us was anything but happy about the raids. Given the numbers we might not survive this, stone walls or no.
     
    thefoolswriter said:
    so it is us being stomped then
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    We're definitely not walking away unscathed. We are probably going to get enslaved or just killed off, with only the absentee hunters getting away.

    This alliance has learned from Makar, and won't be using half-measures against us.

    We could try to buy them off in addition to whatever reparations would allow us to survive as a faction, but I'm not sure how well that would work.
     
    Ah fuck. Why in the Ancestor's good earth would the fucking hunters pull this shit on us after we practically gave them everything they asked for? This would be a fixable situation if only our four missing pops were here.
     
    Duesal said:
    We're definitely not walking away unscathed. We are probably going to get enslaved or just killed off, with only the absentee hunters getting away.
    This alliance has learned from Makar, and won't be using half-measures against us.
    We could try to buy them off in addition to whatever reparations would allow us to survive as a faction, but I'm not sure how well that would work.
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    RandomDwarf said:
    whelp game over fellas...
    was nice...later.
    fucking Deer.
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    All we can do at this point is hunker behind our walls and hope that the white clans or fucking Deer comes riding to our rescue. Again, a nine pop army is a beatable force if we had our full armies and mob pops here, but without them the butchery will wipe us out.
     
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